it's corn!

I truly understand the hype around corn. 

You perfect golden food.

This is one of many love letters to corn.

I cannot deny cornbread. I cannot deny corn tortillas, esp fresh ones holy crap. The possibilities were endless when Mishy and I started brainstorming milkbread flavors, but something fell naturally into place when we landed on corn.

arepa de choclo x milkbread

We pureed some sweet corn kernels and mixed in some crumbled queso fresco - this would be the filling swirl in the middle of our fluffy bread loaf that also had some hidden kernels of fresh sweetness.

Baking bread is not difficult but it is not a quick activity. When I want to make a bread, I usually know I have to mentally commit an entire evening or just a whole weekend day. Baking bread with friends means you have to really like spending time with that friend. I feel like Mishy and I had no problem falling into step with each other around our collaborative corn bread baby. With the extra corn puree and queso, she whipped up an impromptu arepa lunch while we waited for the bread's first rise. I had my stick blender for the corn, but it was also just what we needed to make a quick bowl of extra limey salsa.

Look at this lovely baby. So simple in its execution, yet so beautiful.

After lunch, we were ready to shape.

We split up our dough to make one traditional loaf with the corn queso swirl.. and one attempt at a braided babe with one sesame coated strand.

She curled up into a little snail or maybe a chick or a shell?

I must admit she did not compete with the corn queso swirl though. And if I could have more corn, I would say 'more corn please.' 

Eaten with a spread of Calabrian chili butter and a sprinkling of sea salt.

I put away two slices easy, saving the remaining half for a nice little treat throughout the week.

Like as the vehicle for this mushroom toast:

One more close up for good measure:

Not the first time I've shoved corn into bread (in a way that isn't just cornbread). I forgot about this elote star circa 2018 when star bread was making its IG rounds and I had just had the elote milk bread in LA.

Filled with corn, cheese, cilantro, and served with a lot of limes.

Side note: I brought this to the party where I learned hot cheetohs + cream cheese = dangerous knowledge.

My entire trip in Oaxaca was like my corn rebirth. Not unlike when I left the parent's nest and took a few months to internalize all the home cooking I was missing. I used to treat canned corn like I treat frozen peas. We always had packs of canned corn from Costco that I'd sometimes just crack open, drain, and eat cold. As I got older, I started saving the corn juice for other things because I couldn't bear to dump it down the sink anymore.

My first sitdown dinner was at Expendio Tradicion, which was part of the Slow Food movement, where I started with esquite rojo tradicional oaxaqueño.

Hidden beneath the red broth was a mountain of corn that was not unlike those times I'd just scoop spoonfuls of corn into my mouth and call it dinner.

For the mains, I went with the recommendations in a moment of decision paralysis.

Chiles rellenos y arroz con frutos secos - stuffed with huitlacoche, calabacitas, y requeson. I remember trying to look it up, but in the end I decided these were probably herbs I didn't know.

By the time I got my plate, I was vaguely tipsy and forgot what I was supposed to be eating. Mmm, this is squash, this is cheesey, this is... the herb thing? Or like a leafy vegetable?

I was overzealous with ordering for one and in my prioritization of stomach space, I ate the unidentified leafy herb vegetal thing because it was my favorite. The peppers were deceptively spicy and not as roasty and cooked through as I would prefer, but I couldn't not leftovers to go.

At a later less tipsy day, I remembered I wanted to find and eat corn fungus. And so the mission began. I searched the googs and stopped by a few places to scan the menus, even asking a bartender and then a hostess and then market stand guy where I could find huitlacoche (after practicing how to pronounce it several times to myself so people would know what I was looking for). And then I found it! When I went back to the mercado in the afternoon when it was more bustling and all the independent women were set up next to the bigger venders. In the corners and walkways with their little tables of chapulines and tejate and tamales and the most beautiful bouquets of flores de calabaza over a bowl of HUITLACOCHE.

Omg I was so excited. I asked in broken Spanish if I could try one, but a helpful English-speaking lady explained to me that I could not. I was disappointed I had no way to cook them as instructed but at least now I knew what it looked like so that maybe I could browse around the Mission in search of it.

And then I was compelled to look back at Expendio Tradicion menu again and turns out the pepper I finished was the one stuffed with huitlacoche. *eye roll emoji*

I stumbled upon a cute art shop with cute hand-painted prints of buildings around Oaxaca, and as I was checking out, the lady gave me a custom map with recommendations around the city. I didn't quite understand, and I already had a general plan, but it's my MO to always ask for recommendations in case I need to reroute or fill space. She sent me towards Ama Terraza because a winebar sounded just about right for early afternoon lethargy. Muss Cafe is probably the first place you'll notice as it opens right onto the street. Super relaxed and airy, I was ready to order one of the fun coffee drinks but followed the correct instinct to double check and ask where the wine bar was. Pass the hotel lobby and up the stairs, all the way to the top.

And I was DELIGHTED.

I think I audibly gasped when I saw the courtyard of plants.

It turns out the recommended places on the print shop map are just based on... the buddy system. I tried to ask if it was some sort of collective when I saw the same style of prints at the wine counter. They sold a handful of artsy goodies like geometric candles and zines. "No," the bartender tried to explain, "we are just friends."

Mmm, this might also explain why the barista downstairs looked like a carbon copy of the nice print lady who gave me the map in the first place.

I had them pick out a glass of orange for me, and then I chased it with a mezcal cocktail, and then I was going to close out and go to my next mezcal destination when I decided to ask about their different spins on carajillos. Espresso plus... elote liqueur. 'Scuse? I asked if they could make me a cocktail with elote liqueur sans caffeine, and she was like "You can have it.. neat?" Great, bring me one of those please.

Oh my lord it was soooo corny and delicious. This would be a dangerous bottle to keep in my home.

This was a breakfast tamale I bought on impulse on my way to Mercado 20 de Noviembre the first time (out of three). It was from one of those street side carts where two women sat perched on stools chatting and eating their tortas and several more people were ordering hot chocolates and more tortas. The man running the cart was so smiley, and the fumes smelled so good I had to stop. I didn't know how to ask "What fillings do you have?" So I just said si to everything and ended up with a hella spicy rajas tamal. I didn't actually end up eating it that day, but I did carry it around with me until I went back to the apartment to take a midafternoon nap and refill my water bottle. I shoveled it down for breakfast the next day before I set out to walk for twelve miles around the city.

The reason why I didn't eat the aforementioned tamale right away is because once I got to the mercado, I passed by one of the aforementioned popup tables where the woman had her series of tamales displayed, and I just couldn't resist once again. Plus I had yet to try a tamal oaxaqueño.

A tamal oaxaqueño is a tamale as you know it but wrapped in a banana leaf package and filled with chicken and mole negro. The best of both worlds, porque no los dos, as they say.

I carried my tamal around my self guided tour around Monte Alban and nibbled on it while marveling over ancient civilizations.

I did have another one at one of the three different mercados I wandered through. This one was at a quieter one on the "outskirts" kind of - Mercado de la Merced, and it was glorious. It was the second tamale I ate because the first one was another tamal de rajas con pollo that I panic ordered because it was fresh in my mind. 

Zero regrets around binge eating two tamales in the span of 20min. By the way, this rajas was my favorite and the other oaxaqueño was my fave judged mostly on moist..ness because flavor was all there for me.

So I'm just telling you about my tamales now. This was the fifth tamal I had on my four day trip (seems like kind of low count now that I say i out loud huh...) at Casa Taviche, which I ended up at for the mole dish pictures. This was a mushroom tamal absolutely smothered with mole, and I was SO happy. I will admit I briefly wondered if I should order yet another tamal... but then of course I did because masa is malife. Sometimes I don't even care about the filling. In the same way I used to remove the dumpling filling just to eat the lightly savory-scented, chewy dumpling skins, I just want to scoop away chunks of lightly savory-scented saucy and brothy masa.

On my last night, I was on my way back to the first and favorite cocktail bar I visited when I walked by a doorway that caused me to double back because I thought I saw bottles of things I love and I was right. Fermented things. Japanese traditions + Oaxacan ingredients. I almost cried for the nth time. I tripped over my Spanish with the very enthusiastic and sweet store lady who described and let me taste the corn miso and corn shoyu and chili crisps... and then I left with a bottle of each.

Plus this toasted corn kombucha because I always pick up a local booch wherever I go, and honestly this might be the best one I've had. Certainly the most memorable. I was a heppy heppy girl walking down the street sipping on my boocha.

By the way, the fermentation shop was connected to a fermentation lab which was connected to a cafe that served all its fermented things. I swooned through an impromptu dinner snack after I already agreed with myself that I was too full to eat anything else that evening. I have to admit that I wasn't blown away by what I ordered, but the atmosphere and mission and also they seemed like a newer establishment, so I'll have to go back next year to evaluate again.

I continued on to Selva but got sidetracked yet again by another rooftop bar that looked luscious. Los Amantes is another mezcal bar - one of many all over Oaxaca, which is just a magical thing. There's a... pool... fountain... thing? In the center? Of the rooftop dining area?

They serve the mezcal with chili salt and dried pineapple which was the perfect touch.

And they had an tart elote cocktail that wasn't as good as the corn booch or the elote liqueur but I enjoyed the presentation and corn kernels in it anyways.

This is a long lost recipe for the first (?) corn custard I attempted when I first moved to Oakland because this photoshoot was had in my beautiful then-yard. Basically a corn pudding... topped with toasted kernels, kale chips, and roasted radishes.

corn custard

2 yolks
3T sugar
1T + 2t corn starch

1/2c milk
1/2c corn juice

1T butter

In addition to the cans of corn I used to snack on... I was also a sucker for creamed corn - the canned stuff. I'm not sure I understood the concept or how it was made. I just knew the green can and the picture of silky yellow jewels bathed in milky butter or buttery milk. I didn't like either of these things as a child, but I liked them when supported by sweet yellow corn. So I made some once upon a time ago when the craving hit also shortly after I moved out to Oakland.

I loovvveeee the corn + blueberry combo. Peak summer.  Exquisite. This was me trying to apply that to butter mochi. It didn't work out so well - all the blueberry pieces floated to the top and the lapchang version was too oily. Take two to come... at some point.

 

butter mochi experiments

make this except with 1 less cup sugar

and 12oz milk instead of coconut milk

add sauteed corn from 1 cob

split into two batches

1/3 of batter (~24oz) + sauteed lapchang

2/3 batter + 1/8c sugar + 1/8c blueberry powder

bake larger batch 20min first at 350F

put smaller batch in oven and bake 40min

Speaking of corn + blueberry, this is a lavender blueberry blue corn donut that I got from a farmer's market in New Mexico.

My love for corn extends beyond its context in Latin cuisine. This is a corn treat I saw in Seoul and just had to have. The best part about Asian desserts is the commitment. Beneath this adorable corn shaped casing is corn ice cream and a thin layer of chocolate. Consumed not-so-gracefully while bundled in two jackets, as I waddled through the narrow streets in winter in Korea.

Final found recipe is popovers made with corn milk. I stash corn cobs in the freezer whenever I can to make broths and infused milks. I think I then froze these popovers and toasted them as an accompaniment every time I had a bowl of soup.

sweet corn popovers

adapted from Chrissy Teigan

1 3/4 c corn infused milk

2 eggs

4 T melted meringue buttercream frosting

1 t salt

1 2/3 c AP

Corn might not look like the centerpiece here at Good To Eat's Moon Festival BBQ that featured Taiwanese street food. Everything was nibbly and yummy and dependable but nothing felt special like the corn felt special. That glaze tho.